I do not talk to too many people about apps so whenever I have a problem I'll stop by Verizon. Over time I've had a few employees tell me not to use...
Zedge
Flashlight
Scanner Radio
Task Killer (as well as other any type of killer or cleaner).

What I'm curious about is what other people say, what apps should everyone stay away from?

that's interesting, as I've been using Zedge for years without trouble. Task killers, while controversial, are generally a bad idea as they'll gain you nothing after a few seconds of use, and burn more battery as the kernel refills the now empty RAM.

There's a sticky thread here explaining app permissions that's worth a read. A good rule of thumb is that if an app asks for a lot of permissions that seem unrelated to its function then be suspicious. But this does require a little thought and understanding, since there can be innocent reasons, eg an app that has the option to behave differently when you are in a call will need to be able to read phone state (so the fact that an app that isn't related to calling or messaging wants this doesn't automatically mean it's up to no good).

whats wrong with scanner radio? Yeah it may drain the battery faster when using it, but as far as I know, if you close out of it, it doesnt run in the background. Thats been a helpful lil app on many a bad storms.

I have no idea why they said not to use scanner radio. Sometimes I think they hear or read something and decide to tell everyone that walks into the store.
As for Zedge I still have it on my Droid. no problems.

I have a flashlight app and Scanner Radio installed for awhile and haven't had any issues with either one. Of course scanner radio will drain the battery the more you use it, since it will be streaming!

I do not talk to too many people about apps so whenever I have a problem I'll stop by Verizon. Over time I've had a few employees tell me not to use...
Zedge
Flashlight
Scanner Radio
Task Killer (as well as other any type of killer or cleaner).

What I'm curious about is what other people say, what apps should everyone stay away from?

Click to expand...

Interesting. I've had Zedge on my phone from the day I brought it home, and everyone I know with an android phone has it and recommends it. Did they happen to mention why?

I have a flashlight app and Scanner Radio installed for awhile and haven't had any issues with either one. Of course scanner radio will drain the battery the more you use it, since it will be streaming!

Click to expand...

I was getting unusual app icons appearing on my droid. They were adds. After removing the Flashlight app the add disappeared and have not returned.

Bear the following in mind OP:
1. There are multiple versions of some of the apps you listed. One flashlight app that's sketchy doesn't mean all the rest are.
2. Cell phone reps are not always the most knowledgeable. I've encountered some *very* sharp ones at Big Red that even code apps, but others....not so much. It's good for you to verify their claims at a place like this, but don't be surprised if many posts contest what you were told.

I was getting unusual app icons appearing on my droid. They were adds. After removing the Flashlight app the add disappeared and have not returned.

Click to expand...

There's a sticky thread about this in this forum

As a couple of us have noted, app names don't have to be unique. I just had a peek in the Play Store and counted 28 apps called just "Flashlight" before I got bored, amongst many times that number with flashlight in the name. So with generic names like that you need to specify the developer to be sure you get (or avoid!) the right app.

Doesn't make much sense having an app running in the background to save battery does it

Click to expand...

Depends. Juice Defender extends my battery life by as much as 6-8hrs on regular usage. But that's because I have everything on auto-sync, so JD turning off connections for a time and rechecking just after a certain period does save battery more than letting the phone stay online all the time.

But then again, battery saving apps work only on certain situations. If you aren't like me who leaves packet data on all the time, they won't be of any help at all.

1. My guess is they don't want you to use Zedge because they want you to buy ring tones from them.

2. There are some Flashlight apps with malware in them like ads popping up in the notification bar. I found that out the hard way when I first got my phone. But, there are some good ones in the market as well. If you go to install a flashlight app, and it wants access to the internet, obviously that's bad. Why would a flashlight need to access the network? You just have to pay attention to permissions.

3. Scanner Radio uses a lot of data and battery, so that's probably why they said not to use it probably. It's an awesome app and worth installing though just be mindful of how much you use it.

4.Task Killers use more battery than they do good. Older versions of Android could make good use of them but now if you have one and have it set to keep closing google maps, or email, or something like that those services will just keep restarting and end up using more battery. However, as chanchan05 said, an app like Juice Defender could still be useful by turning auto-sync on and off at certain times/intervals and save some battery. But only Android should manage running tasks/services/processes.

Thats my take anyway. It's hard to explain what a Verizon rep is thinking lol.